The WomanityFoundation enters the 2015 Top 500 NGOs ranking. Yann Borgstedt, founder andchairman, tells us what he believes makes for a stellar social developmentorganisation.

“In January 2015,
Womanity entered the Top 500 NGOs as devised by Global_Geneva. The ranking identifies
social development and humanitarian non-governmental non-profit organisations
(NGOs), who excel in innovation, impact and sustainability.

The search for new,
effective solutions to address social problems, and the ambition to build on
them to foster durable, systemic change are key drivers for the Womanity
Foundation’s work. We continuously strive to identify innovative ways that
create sustainable progress for women and girls around the world, particularly
in the areas of

· girls’education, to
improve the girls’ lives as well as the well-being of their families and
communities;

· givingvoice to women in the
media to consolidate their presence and leadership in society;

· protection to make the world safer for women, to the benefit of all.

In the 10-year
journey since our creation in 2005, we learned a lot about how to identify and
support interventions that will truly transform communities. We also became
more confident about the role we could play, with our specific skills,
attributes and resources, within an eco-system of partners that are
collaborating to achieve change. Importantly, we realized that it is a
continuous journey, where we need to be alert to new approaches; collaborate
with a wide range of partners; and stand ready to take risks. The willingness
to take risks is a strong impulse for creativity and innovation, while
forthcoming and purposeful collaborations mitigate the hazards and improve the
chances for success.

However, the
catalytic power of calculated risk-taking is largely under-rated in the field
of social development. Often, we come across those who promote their funding of
innovation for NGOs, but are actually uncomfortable with funding the research
and development needed for creating new solutions. We would do well to remember
Edison, and how his scores of failed experiments lead to an invention that
revolutionized human development.

Being among the Top
500 NGOs provides an opportunity for Womanity to connect with others who are
keen to push for social justice. We are truly honoured to be in such great
company, and we commit to the highest possible level of creativity and impact,
so as to be an asset for the whole NGO community, and beyond. To achieve this, we
will continue to invest in inventing and piloting models that challenge our
thinking, in collaboration with like-minded partners. Because this is the only
way we can ignite the light bulb momentum that will truly empower women and
girls and drive progress world-wide.”

About Global_Geneva and Top500 NGOs

Global_Geneva was launched in 2011
by Jean-Christophe Nothias, former editor of The Global Journal. In 2014,
following the 2012 and 2013 Top 100 NGO rankings published by The Global
Journal, Global_Geneva took over the expansion of the ranking. As the home of
the Top 500 NGOs ranking, Global_Geneva will monitor the growth of the
non-profit sector, looking for ideas, values and models that challenge normal
approaches to policy and the market. By ranking NGOs, Global_Geneva seeks to:
showcase the diversity and scale of organizations encompassed by the ‘NGO’
label; compare NGOs using criteria that transcend geography and field of
activity; stimulate inquiry and debate about NGO impact, innovation and
sustainability; and present a wide range of exemplary NGO work so that
sector-wide trends can be observed year to year and annual rankings adjusted
over time. Global_Geneva’s network of NGOs is built from over 1,800
organizations. NGOs500 is poised to become not just the definitive ranking of
NGOs but also a forum for discussing trends, ideas and innovations related to
the non-profit sector.